Archives for January 2012

The last month has been a crazy period since my last post. This time of year can be the busiest period for a personal trainer with all the health and fitness new year’s resolutions that people make. As it’s such a big thing for a lot of people to set goals/targets at the beginning of the year, I thought it would be the perfect subject for a blog. So, my question to you(if you’ve made a new year’s resolution!) is, ‘have you quit yet?’

Many people use a new year as a fresh start and the chance to start again and make things happen. A lot of new year’s resolutions I hear about are about lose weight, eating healthier, stop smoking, training and competing in an event(triathlon, marathon etc) and to generally be more healthy. The problem is, as humans we aim high and sometimes too high! Some of us set a target which is just unrealistic in the short term and it can be demoralising if we don’t reach our goals in the time we want to. That’s not to say we won’t get there in the future if we continue to work hard towards our goals, but many people just fall at the first hurdle and quit as their original goal just looks impossible to reach. I believe there are ways in which we can help ourselves reach those goals without quitting and I’ve come up with a few tips that I think might be helpful to prevent you from quitting before the end of January!

Here are my tips to help you stick to your new year’s resolutions and have a fitter, healthier and happier year:

Mini targets: You may have a goal in mind and like I said it is reachable if you work hard towards it, but it may be something you will achieve in the long term. Try breaking it down in to smaller targets so that you have something more reachable in the short term. By working hard towards a goal but not reaching it for a long time, it can get mentally tough and easy to give up! None of us want to give up so make it more achievable. For example, you might want to lose three stone in weight. Three stone is a lot to lose if you do it the correct way(2 lb’s a week!) and could take six months or more if you work towards it religiously and get the 2 lb loss each week. Only seeing the odd ‘lb’ or so loss each week makes three stone seem so far away, so why not aim towards half a stone within a month which is much more realistic and gives you a short term goal.

Rewards: Taking on board the tip above, once you’ve set your small targets, try treating yourself every time you reach a ‘mini target’. Being successful without rewards can also seem pointless until you reach your main goal and see the overall reward. So, treating yourself at each small target you achieve, makes it a little more fun and gives you an incentive/something to aim for. For example(using the same example as above), every time you lose half a stone, buy yourself something you wouldn’t normally buy, like a new item of clothing for your new body shape!

Moderation: Cutting out the bad is always the right way to go but if you are used to something, cutting it out straight away can end up leaving you with cravings, for example, cutting out cigarettes or a certain food to lose weight. Why not try to cut down a little at a time or if you do choose to cut it out of your daily routine, there is no harm in having it once every so often(in moderation) and do it less and less until you are completely sure you are ready to stop all together. Cutting something out of your diet or nicotine out of your life all together straight away can lead to a relapse as the craving is too much to handle. Wait until you are mentally strong enough to completely stop before you force yourself to stop.

Facts: This won’t work with all new year’s resolutions or with all people for that matter, but it’s human nature to enjoy seeing black and white facts on how well we’re doing and the successes we’ve had or having, and generally simple facts are enough to spur us on. Writing a diary or logging data is a great way to look back at past success and give us belief again when things aren’t going quite as well as they did at the start. Sometimes progress slows down and is less noticeable so graphs and figures are great for showing you may still be heading in the right direction and if you’re not, they might just give you the kick up the backside that you need to get on the path for success again! For example, you might have only lost half a ‘lb’ this week and you think you’re getting no where fast, but if you look back, you may well have lost a stone in total and it can be a positive action to keep you smiling and not quitting!

So there are my tips to help you reach your new year’s resolutions. Some might not work for you or they all might work as everyone is different and our minds work in different ways, but hopefully from the four tips above you might have got something to keep you heading in the right direction. Remember….nothing worth having in life comes without hard work!

If you’ve read this blog, I’d love to know your new year’s resolutions, how you’re getting on with them and what you are doing to reach them? Please feel free to share your comments, you never know….your success stories or advice may well help someone else in the same situation.

Thanks for reading my blog and good luck in 2012 in reaching your goals, whatever they may be.

Michael Dobson
Personal Trainer

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